A sick rider on a well horse is no better than a well rider on a sick horse. While we all love our horses and do our best to care for them, we often neglect our own health issues. This can result in decreased enjoyment of the horse and rider relationship, and may lead to discontinuing riding altogether. As our rider population ages, if rider health issues aren't properly addressed there will be a decrease in rider numbers. This will negatively impact the horse industry economy. As a practicing Neurosurgeon, I spent 30 years learning about the equestrian health issues. Although there was virtually no literature to read, I found ample opportunity to study these issues, think about what I saw, and treat them. In the beginning, I was wrong about as many time as I was right, but I stuck with it and my aim on reality improved. My joy was finding patients who had been told by well meaning but uninformed doctors that they should stop riding. Getting these patients back in the saddle was as much a joy to me as to them, and reinforced why I became a physician.
Following the publication of my book (The Rider's Pain Free Back) devoted to prevention and treatment of equestrian spine problems, and the upcoming articles in Equus on rider health, I decided to blog as a means of further communication with the riding community. It's here for both of us, so please feel free to contact me regarding any health problems you are experiencing that are reducing your riding enjoyment. The gate is open.
